Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Cal was the victim in Ohio State's first bowl victory

Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoDispatch file photoWith darkness setting in and Ohio State having been penalized 5 yards for delay of game, Jimmy Hague connects from the 18-yard line for a field goal with 1:55 remaining that gave the Buckeyes a 17-14 victory over Cal in the 1950 Rose Bowl.

Jack Park, a leading Ohio State football historian, checks in each week during the college football season with a retrospective about the Buckeyes.

Ohio State will host California on Saturday in what likely will be the Buckeyes' most challenging non-conference matchup this season. OSU's first two bowl games were against the Golden Bears in Rose Bowls at the conclusion of the 1920 and '49 seasons.

Coach John Wilce’s Ohio State squad entered the 1921 Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 at 7-0, having outscored its opponents 150-28. At 8-0, coach Andy Smith’s Golden Bears were nicknamed the “wonder team” after outscoring opponents 482-14. The Buckeyes, who were playing their first game west of the Mississippi River, were completely outclassed and lost 28-0 before an announced crowd of 42,000.

Ohio State’s 1949 campaign was a season of courage and determination on the part of a senior-dominated squad that entered the 1950 Rose Bowl on Jan. 2 with a 6-1-2 record. Coach Wes Fesler's Buckeyes had come from behind in three of their six victories. California (10-0) had not been beaten since losing the previous season's Rose Bowl 21-14 to Northwestern.

The Golden Bears led 7-0 at halftime, moved the ball freely after receiving the second-half kickoff and were threatening to increase their lead. But halfback Vic Janowicz ended the drive with a jumping interception of Bob Celeri's pass at the Ohio State 25-yard line and returned it to the California 31.

From there the Buckeyes tied the score when fullback Fred “Curly” Morrison went over the middle on a fourth-down call from the 2. Years later, when discussing the game, OSU quarterback Pandel Savic recalled, "Vic's interception and return turned things around for us, and it really took the spirit out of California's attack."

Cal started its next drive from its 26. After three plays netted only 2 yards, Buckeyes tackle Bill Trautwein blocked Celeri's punt attempt and center Jack Lininger carried the ball to the 6. Once again, four downs were needed for Ohio State to score, with halfback Jerry Krall taking it over left tackle from inside the 2. Jimmy Hague's conversion made it 14-7, and the Buckeyes had tallied twice within a span of 3:42.

The Bears answered to tie the score at 14 on their next possession. Late in the final quarter with the score still tied, Celeri was forced to punt on fourth down with the ball at the Cal 16. He momentarily fumbled a low snap from center, then kicked the ball off his wrong foot (left) on the run. The ball rolled out of bounds at the 13, giving the Buckeyes one of the game's biggest breaks.

After three running plays netted just more than 8 yards, Fesler sent Dick Widdoes and Tom Watson in with instructions for Hague to attempt a field goal on fourth down. The players, wanting to go for the first down, signaled them off the field, so Widdoes and Watson returned to the sideline. Fesler, however, sent them back onto the field, but by this time the Buckeyes were penalized 5 yards for delay of game.

With Widdoes spotting the ball at the 18-yard line, Hague responded beautifully under tremendous pressure and booted the ball through the uprights with 1:55 remaining. The Buckeyes won 17-14 in the first Rose Bowl to be decided by a kick.

Morrison, who gained 127 on 24 carries, played the finest game of his career and was selected the game's most valuable player. For Cal coach Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf, losing to Ohio State on a late-fourth-quarter field goal was nothing new. He had been Northwestern’s coach when Max Schnittker's 32-yard field goal with 1:28 remaining lifted the Buckeyes to a 16-14 win over the Wildcats in 1945.